Apple Inc. (AAPL) is delaying the release
of the iPad 2 tablet computer in Japan in the aftermath of
earthquakes and a tsunami in the Asian country.

The company had planned to release the computer in Japan on
March 25. It hasn’t set a new date, Natalie Kerris, a
spokeswoman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, said today in
a telephone interview. The company also has closed a retail
store in the quake-damaged city of Sendai.

The iPad line is the fastest-selling technology product in
history, measured by revenue, according to Creative Strategies
Inc. Apple’s sales in Japan accounted for about $4 billion last
year, or 6.1 percent of total revenue. The impact from the 9.0
magnitude earthquake on Apple will be minimal this quarter,
according to estimates from Piper Jaffray Cos.

“We are delaying the launch of the iPad 2 in Japan while
the country and our team focuses on recovering from the recent
disaster,” Kerris said. “Our hearts go out to the people of
Japan, including our employees and their families who have been
impacted by this terrible tragedy.”

The release of the iPad 2 in 25 other countries on March 25
is on track, Kerris said. The fallout from the earthquake will
have less than a 1 percent impact on sales in the quarter that
ends this month, said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray
in Minneapolis. The impact would be less than 3 percent in the
June quarter, even in a worst-case scenario, he said.

Employees in Japan

All of Apple’s employees in Japan have been accounted for,
said the company, the world’s biggest technology business by
market value.

Many manufacturers in the country have shut operations and
halted production as they deal with the earthquake, which has
been responsible for thousands of deaths.

Toshiba Corp. (6502), which makes 35 percent of the Nand flash
memory chips that store information in mobile phones, tablets
such as the iPad and digital cameras, shut its factories after
Tokyo Electric Power Co. requested companies cut electricity
consumption.

Apple fell $8.13, or 2.3 percent, to $345.43 at 4 p.m. New
York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have gained
7.1 percent this year.